Hope, Burnout, and Life Satisfaction: An Intriguing Trinity Among Investigators of the SWOG Cancer Research Network

PURPOSE: Although hope has been explored in patients, few studies have investigated hopefulness in health care professionals. We surveyed oncology professionals within the SWOG Cancer Research Network, exploring relationships among personal hopefulness, social support, work stress, burnout, and life satisfaction. We hypothesized that hope would mediate the relationships between these other variables and life satisfaction. METHODS: SWOG members were randomly selected for an online survey containing measures of hope, social support, work stress, burnout, and satisfaction with life. Of 1,000 invitees, 226 responded. RESULTS: We tested a multiple mediational model using Hayes' bootstrapping approach (ie, PROCESS v3.4). As hypothesized, hope partially mediated the relationships between burnout and life satisfaction as well as between social support and life satisfaction. In particular, hopefulness was associated with lower burnout (−0.23; P = .005), greater social support (0.23; P = .005), and greater life satisfaction (0.50; P < .001). Work stress was associated with greater burnout (0.57; P < .001) but was not associated with general life satisfaction. Finally, social support was associated with lower burnout (−0.16; P = .005) and greater life satisfaction (0.24; P < .001). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that hope may mitigate the effects of burnout. The combination of hope and social support may prove helpful for reducing burnout and improving life satisfaction. Single-session hope-enhancement interventions incorporating both hope and social support have previously been shown to increase hope and well-being in non–health care professionals. Such interventions for health care providers warrant further study.

The Cervical Cancer Research Network (Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup) roadmap to expand research in low- and middle-income countries

Cervical cancer is a global health problem which disproportionally affects women in low- and middle- income countries. The World Health Organization recently launched its global strategy to eliminate this disease in the next two decades. For those women diagnosed today with cervical cancer better strategies are needed to improve outcome and reduce treatment-related morbidity. Clinical trials are critical to shaping future treatment, and much has been achieved already. However, such opportunities are limited in low resource settings, and the Cervical Cancer Research Network is dedicated to expanding access to new technologies in surgery, radiation, and medical oncology. In this article we review the status of the trials portfolio and outline future objectives, including the launch of a number of research grants for aspiring or established researchers in low- and middle-income settings

Cervical cancer in Eastern Europe: review and proceedings from the Cervical Cancer Research Conference

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among women worldwide, with a disproportionately high burden of disease in less-developed regions of the world. The Cervix Cancer Research Network was founded by the Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup with a mission to improve outcomes in cervical cancer by enhancing international access to clinical trials, specifically in under-represented, underdeveloped areas. The Cervix Cancer Research Network held its third international educational symposium in Bucharest in 2018 and is the subject of this report. The purpose of this symposium was to advance the international understanding of cervical cancer treatment patterns, to foster recruitment to Cervix Cancer Research Network clinical trials, and identify key Cervix Cancer Research Network clinical trial concepts to improve cervical cancer care worldwide.

Assembling a network to promote translational bladder cancer research in Canada

Bladder cancer research has historically lagged behind efforts in other disease sites with substantial underfunding relative to the heavy morbidity and mortality suffered by patients. Alongside increasing advocacy however, more recent advances in our understanding of the molecular biology of bladder cancer has ushered in a period of renaissance with exciting prospects for novel, precise diagnostics and therapeutics. Given significant and diverse assets within the research community across Canada, an inaugural translational research forum was convened to identify research gaps and strengths, and to formalize investigational themes that would be apposite for multi-institutional collaboration. The virtual meeting brought together a multi-disciplinary network of genitourinary cancer researchers, including clinicians and basic scientists, and entailed detailed environmental scans of the Canadian clinical and translational research landscape as well as selected “elevator pitches” of potential research themes. The results of these discussions are detailed herein and have provided the impetus to formalize the Canadian Bladder Cancer Research Network (CBCRN). Working groups have been created to focus future multi-institutional collaborations in four inter-related initiatives: biomarker development, epigenetic targeting, immuno-oncology and the microbiome.

The US–Latin America Cancer Research Network

PURPOSE The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center for Global Health promotes global oncology research to reduce cancer burden worldwide. In 2009, NCI launched the Latin American Cancer Research Network (LACRN) to support a clinical cancer research network in Latin America. LACRN was started by a coalition of research institutions through bilateral collaborative agreements between the US Department of Health and Human Services and the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay. The LACRN is supported through a research contract to a study coordination center and subcontracts to 6 low- and middle-income country sites. The participating countries have a shared goal that meets the specific research needs of the regions. The overarching purpose of this endeavor is to implement high-quality standards for conducting clinical research studies and developing collaborative cancer research projects. METHODS NCI supported a clinical breast cancer project for LACRN, “Molecular profiling of breast cancer (MPBC) in Latin American women with stage II and III breast cancer receiving standard neo-adjuvant chemotherapy.” The molecular profiling of breast cancer study was conducted in 40 hospitals and research institutions across 5 countries with a study population of approximately 1,400 patients. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION Establishing a comprehensive network in Latin America and their research institutions yielded an incredible research resource that can be used in future studies, driven by the network. Throughout the process of developing and implementing studies, LACRN helped identify key elements of the functionality of research networks, such as the pivotal role of institutional and government commitment for sustainability; the importance of building multidisciplinary teams, transparent communications, and training; the ability to combine translational, epidemiology, and clinical research to close research gaps; and the application of new technologies to standard cancer clinical care.